Dyer, Poe Take To New Roles

CAMPAIGN 2004 - Democratic National Convention - TAKING NAMES

A look at the past and future of Florida's Democratic Party through two men who are in the thick of things here in Boston:

MAYOR, MAYOR NOT?

Back in 2000, when Democratic delegates in Los Angeles were asked who was the party's best hope for beating Gov. Jeb Bush, a state senator named Buddy Dyer came in third place.

That was four years and a political lifetime ago.

Since then, Dyer lost a statewide campaign for attorney general, then turned his fortunes around by twice winning the Orlando mayor's seat and is enjoying City Hall life -- for now.

"I want to serve eight more years," he said Wednesday, standing just outside a meeting room where Sen. Bill Nelson was trying really, really hard to sound invigorating.

What's not to like? As mayor of a city in the middle of the political universe, Dyer gets national attention. And now, save for a few rowdy council meetings, he gets to create his own agenda.

Still, Dyer confessed that John Kerry in the White House might create tempting appointment possibilities. (And give the guy credit for being candid here. Former Mayor Glenda Hood and former Orange County Chairman Mel Martinez always adamantly denied they were interested in such trappings, even as Hood was shopping her resume to anyone who happened to have Bush as a last name.)

And if Dyer does serve eight more years in Orlando, up next, he says, "would be governor."

EMERGING FROM THE STORM

At every event in Boston, as delegates gather to meet and talk, Bob Poe stands by. Watching. Silent.

Four years ago, Poe was in the thick of it all. The Seminole County resident was chairman of the Florida Democrats and the beau of the political ball. But then George W. Bush won the White House. And his little brother got back into the Governor's Mansion. Dems wanted blood. And Poe's was spilled.

"I had a bull's-eye painted on my chest," he said. "But I understand that. It's not about me. It's about the position."

Nowadays, as president of a telecommunications firm, Poe says he's happy with his lot in life. And he's still a behind-the-scenes power player, working with Central Florida's big-money Democrats to raise unprecedented amounts of cash.

No, he's no longer flying on Air Force One alongside Bill Clinton. But he remains as passionate as ever about his progressive party and harbors no grudges for his ousting.

"That was a tough thing to go through," he said while his successor, party chairman Scott Maddox, worked the crowd in another room. "But I feel good now. Besides, I have a lot more time to do what I want."

MORE MOORE

When filmmaker Michael Moore made a surprise visit to the Florida delegation Wednesday morning, the place turned into a madhouse.

The crowd loved him. But it was the media -- TV guys who starting shoving and punching security guards -- who later prompted the Boston police to get involved and break it up.

While on stage, Moore embraced U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville saying that her impassioned scene in Fahrenheit 9/11 meant the "campaign for best supporting actress is on." Oh, and get ready for more Moore, as the guy with the permanently scraggly 5 o'clock-the-next-day shadow vowed to spend a lot of time in Florida -- with his cameras -- monitoring the election process in the coming weeks.

LIVE, VIA SATELLITE

When the thousands of delegates in the FleetCenter gaze upon the massive video screen at 8:18 tonight, they will see Charity Thompson, a 22-year-old Army reservist and Iraqi veteran from Orange County. Kerry met Thompson when he visited the Englewood Neighborhood Center in May and she talked of problems she'd had receiving medical attention since returning from Iraq. Kerry intervened and found help (and apparently campaign fodder).

SEEN AND HEARD

Peter Jennings doing his standup from the middle of the Florida delegation -- for the third night in a row . . . a mouse running into the Florida delegation's breakfast meeting-room . . . Maddox, who lost an attorney-general primary battle to Dyer in 2002, confirming that he "will run" again for something else . . . The Rev. Jesse Jackson again milling about the Marriott Copley lobby (maybe he needs a new room key) . . . Nelson refusing to play along with questions I ask about what perks he'll get when he becomes the state's senior senator upon Bob Graham's retirement. (Executive washroom? "No." Nicer office? "No." Bigger paycheck? "No. It's really just a title, Scott." Sigh.)